Battier, council speak out for student-athletes
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
INDIANAPOLIS -- Shane Battier took the podium and delivered his opening
remarks Saturday to a small group of media and coaches assembled in a conference room at the Hyatt.
After the first few sentences, the strikingly confident, articulate and
sincere junior forward from Duke had won over everyone in attendance.
|  | | Shane Battier is putting in the effort he shows on the floor into the Student Basketball Council. |
Except the NCAA.
No one from the organization's hierarchy came to hear the first news conference from the Executive Board of the new Student Basketball
Congress.
The question facing this overdue and needed voice in college basketball is
will the NCAA ever listen?
The mission of the SBC is to improve the quality of life for college
basketball players in light of the antagonist feelings between the NCAA and
college basketball players this season.
"This group wasn't formed to go against the NCAA, hopefully, we'll be able
to work with the NCAA to make some changes for the student athletes," said
Dayton freshman Brooks Hall, a inaugural board member.
"We'll work together and hopefully get some things changed."
The National Association of Basketball Coaches helped organize the congress,
which mirrors the NABC's congress with a representative from each conference. The
intention was to give them a voice, even if it contradicted the coaches'
association.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, a long-time board member, said he expects the
group to disagree with the coaches at times, but was in awe of the character
and diversity of the board members Saturday -- Battier, Hall, Stanford senior
Mark Madsen, Butler's LaVell Jordan and Old Dominion's Andre McCullum.
"This is so good," Krzyzewski said. "I think this has been the best thing
here (at the Final Four)."
And with good reason. Too often, the NCAA never listens to the
student-athletes who actually play the sport before the membership enacts a
rule. But the beauty of this group, even if all that happens, is that a
common voice will be heard, a voice that represents college basketball players in
an age of early departures to the NBA, suspensions and transfers.
The NCAA's hierarchy cites that there is a student advisory council, so
there isn't as much a need for a sport-specific group. But that's not true.
Football and men's basketball are treated differently than all other sports regarding transferring. In all other sports, players can transfer without sitting out a year, but in those two
sports they must sit out a year in residence at their new school.
The SBC spoke about this issue and stipends for men's college basketball
players. Madsen said the reality is that basketball is a two-semester sport
where there is no time to work or do anything but academics and basketball.
Even during the summer players must work on their game and lift weights to stay
competitive at a high level. The NCAA wants to push student-athletes to work
more during the summer, but that would go against what the coaches and
players feel they need to do to stay competitive.
"We're trying to say that there are basketball-specific issues," Battier
said. "There are a lot of them that the public isn't aware of. For the NCAA
to say you're sport specific for some rules and other times say no, you're
like everyone else, is a little vague. This is a great time to examine what
issues are sport-specific and what should be across the board."
The SBC didn't have a dollar amount of what each player should receive. They didn't
have a solution to amateurism or summer recruiting, either. What they did say is
that the NCAA has no business ruling on what happened during their lives before they came to college, low-income student-athletes need help but fall prey to social
pressures and don't want to ask for money (i.e. student-assistance fund), players should have more freedom, not less, when it comes time to transferring and are in favor of allowing more contact
with college coaches during the junior year of high school.
Too often, Battier said, players don't get a chance to get to know their
coaches before they get to college. They need to get a feel for someone
before July arrives. Do that and maybe there won't be as many transfers.
The council plans to be aggressive, meet as often as the schools will allow
(the institutions have to pay for the flights) and try to convey a positive
image about the game they play.
"Our main mission is to improve the condition of college basketball,"
Madsen said. "We want people to come to college and stay. We want them to
get their degree and enjoy it, enjoy the friendships that we've all had a
chance to make in college and enjoy the times being a college student."
Battier is realistic, knowing that the NCAA may not listen to the congress.
But he's politically savvy enough to know that public perception could be in
their favor if they speak out, rather than have the face of their game be
distorted by suspensions to Erick Barkley, JaRon Rush and Jamal Crawford.
"If we can make our presence known this year, from this meeting, then we
will consider the early stages of this group a success," Battier said.
Consider it done.
Coaching chatter
Wyoming coach Steve McClain confirmed that he has been contacted by Houston athletics director
Chet Gladchuk and the two could meet before the end of the Final Four.
McClain coached as an assistant at TCU and Texas A&M and won the national
title at Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College. He has strong ties to Texas and
the Houston-area. But McClain may find it hard to leave the Cowboys with a
chance to make a run at the NCAA Tournament next season with the return of
Josh Davis, Ugo Udezue and the debut of 7-foot center Uche Amadi.
Gladchuk's attempt to contact McClain could prove bad news for the chances
of assistant Reid Gettys replacing Clyde Drexler, who resigned Thursday. The
longer this process goes on, it also could hurt former Houston player and current
BYU assistant Dave Rose's chances to land the position.
Western Carolina could be looking at Fresno State director of
operations Jack Fertig, who was at Western Carolina during its most
successful period, as well as Tennessee assistant Byron Samuels and former
Georgia Tech assistant Kevin Cantwell.
Loyola Marymount athletics director William Husak told ESPN.com that Eastern
Washington coach Steve Aggers will be on campus Tuesday to meet the school's
president. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. |
